The «Multimatograf» gala-concert was accompanied by intergalactic applause: the Russkiy Dom concert hall turned into a spaceship travelling across galaxies. The main flying vehicle was, obviously, the enormous airship with the festival logo, which had been installed above the stage.

The magical summergun, Bondarchuk the germ, a horror kitchen, a moonwalking granny — the spectators got to see a series of videos rated by the jury as the best ones.

Festival development, works, and general impression of Vologda have been discussed at the press conference today.

Maksim Petryaev, director of «Multimatograf», told us about new things held at the anniversary festival, such as a round table on multimedia trends and pitching, where the authors could present their works to international experts and get their support. Thanks to our VJs from France, Vologodians and visitors of the city got to see architectural mapping. Maksim also mentioned that, for the first time in the festival’s history, there was a special person engaged in pre-selecting works.

The idea of promoting this practice was supported by a scriptwriter, director, and actor Roman Artemyev. He wished the festival to receive works of higher and higher level each year and promised to help with it.
Camera operator Sergey Astakhov believes that it is right and important to develop cinematography in small towns with a fresh perspective.

«I don’t know what I am doing here, I just sell shoes!», says Jymn Magon, creator of «DuckTales». «But jokes aside we don’t have this kind of festival in the USA, so it has been an interesting experience for me». Magon has noticed that everything was well-planned and organized. He admires Vologda and is even afraid that he may be disappointed when he arrives to Moscow.

Today at Multimatograf the first pitching was held and the winner is Alexandra Lukina from Moscow. She presented a project of animation movie «Breaking news». Marina Moshkova with animation movie «Stencilled» took the second place.

Pitching is a presentation of projects made by beginners to experts and investors who can help financing and producing the project. The jury included producer Heather Kenyon, animator, director, and screenwriter Jymn Magon, and director and screenwriter Maksim Voskoboev.

Ten young authors presented their works. Projects of short films — animated movies and documentaries — were shown.

The jury distinguished three project ideas they liked. One of them is a short fiction film «Vacuum Cleaner» by Yegor Chichkanov who is taking part in the festival for the fourth time. The judges also liked the idea of the film «Lenin-trip» introduced by Yaroslav Kuzin.

The jury noticed a group from Vologda that talked about their idea to create a documentary about young Kandinsky’s visit to Vologda and how folk art of Kadnikovskoe county inspired him. Heather Kenyon said that such films Vologodians definitely should make.

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http://www.multimatograf.ru/news?id=334Sun, 27 Apr 2014 18:47:45 +0400You need to learn how to make stoolsIn the evening there was a lecture about the methods of teaching art of cinematography in Hollywood and the latest trends in the field of filmmaking read by producer Andrey Kim and screenwriter Maxim Voskoboev.

Andrey and Maxim graduated from New York Film Academy in Los Angeles. They have a great working experience in the film industry in Russia and abroad. According to the lecturers, learning from masters such as Paul Brown and Ginny Donoho gave them a lot. They learned how to make a finished product on their own.

Hollywood Film School is completely different from Russian. For example, in Russia it is forbidden for students of acting faculties to act in films, whereas in America it is obligatory. Future Hollywood stars know precisely that their profession is hard work first of all, so you first need to learn the basics, and only after that you can add creativity. "To create a Venetian chair you need to learn how to make stools" Andrey and Maxim repeated these words several times.

At the lecture there was a discussion about the current state of cinema. Recently Russian films are being built according to the Western model. Experts can just predict which plot twists or key points will happen at this or that minute, however the presence of this cliche in the movie does not make it less interesting for the viewer.

Tomorrow at 2PM Andrey Kim is going to talk about production of short films.

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http://www.multimatograf.ru/news?id=333Sat, 26 Apr 2014 22:12:56 +0400Igor Kovalyov: "Art is the energy of happiness"Animation artist, director and scriptwriter Igor Kovalyov talked today to the visitors of "Multimatograf" and discussed commercial and amateur animation. After that everyone could see his works.

Igor started making animation at the age of 17. He moved to Moscow together with his friend, another artist, Aleksandr Tatarskiy and founded the first non-state animation studio in the USSR, called "Pilot". Kovalyov took part in creating such popular cartoons as "The Adventures of Captain Wrungel", "Plasticine Crow", "Investigation Held by Kolobki".

Igor divides his works into commercial and amateur ones. According to him, when creating a commercial video it is important to know who your target audience is. 90% of your success depends on the script. The story in a commercial work must be concrete and easy to understand.

Amateur films are made for the author himself. They are his toy, he can express his feelings through them. If the audience like them, it is great, but they are, above all, a way of self-expression. The principle of creation is absolutely different: the story starts not from an idea, but from some detail that has caught the author’s attention. Amateur movies are not to be sold, but the artist cannot help making them over and over again, for art is the energy of happiness.

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http://www.multimatograf.ru/news?id=332Sat, 26 Apr 2014 21:04:24 +0400Co-production pizzaThe famous producer Heather Kenyon has revealed secrets of successful media product sales and told us about the breakthrough in the TV show field and ways of getting money for your production.

Did you know what you need to know when you apply your project to a TV channel? First, you need to know everything about the channel: its history, image, peculiarities of giving information. Even channels for kids have their own specifics. Disney broadcasts nice and kind shows which encourage the idea that all dreams can come true. Nickelodeon is more down-to-earth; comedy cartoons prevail, so that you feel that it is fun to be a kid.

Then you need to clearly determine your genre and target audience. "If someone comes up to me and says that he has a great idea for children from 2 to 12, I understand that they know nothing about shows!"

Children in different countries are not the same. In Britain they grow faster than in the USA, says Kenyon. If an American show is made for kids under 12, not a single British kid over 9 would ever watch it. It is not only the age that matters. American kids are more conservative and religious while British children are more prudent and cynical.

She also discussed serious changes regarding TV in general, since it has become less popular. Nowadays we watch TV while using a few more devices at the same time. "I have some friends whose children’s first word was not "mom" or "dad", but "iPad".
Among other things, Heather Kenyon told us how to get enough money for your project: "Never spend your own money!" She named 8 ways of collaboration, co-pro, which remind her of pizza slices. They are, for example, work with a TV channel, sponsors and funds, toy companies, private investors and so on. The key point is to use all of these ways as if making the whole pizza — 100% of your budget.

Tomorrow, on the last day of the festival, Heather will hold another workshop "How to Create a Pitching Bible" and tell us how to present your show at a TV channel.